


Color Coded!

by Mostaci0lli



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Colors, F/F, F/M, I literally personified colors of all things, M/M, Original Story - Freeform, Swatches, what am I doing with my life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 20:04:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7588204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mostaci0lli/pseuds/Mostaci0lli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ivory, a White, moves into the Yellow Territory where she meets Taupe, Sterling and Starless. This tracks the daily life in a world where everyone is a misfit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Color Coded!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Maya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maya/gifts), [Jill](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jill/gifts), [Everyone who likes colors](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Everyone+who+likes+colors).



> So, if you can't tell, Everyone in this story is a personified color. Ivory is a White, Taupe is a Beige, Sterling is a Silver, and Starless is a Black. There are stereotypes in the color society, but this chapter doesn't touch on them. This just needs to be clarified in case anyone thinks this is all about racism when it's not. Everyone is LITERALLY a color. Their skin and hair colors are exactly the same. That being said, try to enjoy. (Pairings are only hinted at in this chapter. There is no romance action yet)

He sits in front of the easel, watching the colors blend and clash across the canvas as his brush gently floats all around it. His strokes are even, and orderly. Not a single flaw is found in his work in progress. Covering his ears are his prized white headphones. The world blurs around him until he is alone with nothing but his painting, and the electronic music engaging his mind.

“Taupe!” A loud call of his name snaps him out of his trance. He looks up to see his friend standing in the doorway. He cocks an eyebrow, lowering his headset to his neck. The smirk on the older boy’s face is enough to raise a few red flags. As usual, he sports a Marvel-themed shirt and jeans. Today, he notes, is a Spider-Man day.

“Sterling, I swear to god, if you used my card to buy one of your  _ stupid  _ action figures again-” Taupe points a finger at the now snickering male. His glasses nearly fall off his face before he regains his composure.

“Come on, Man. That was one time.” Sterling tilts his head with a warm-hearted smile, but this doesn’t phase Taupe at all. He knows by now that the only reason the Silver would have for coming upstairs out of the blue would be something to do with money. “Besides, that’s not what I’m here for.” This statement does little to dull his suspicions. 

“Fine then,” mutters Taupe, “what kind of sick joke do you have in store for me now?” Sterling sighs, letting out a soft chuckle. Adjusting his glasses, he urges the Beige in front of him to follow as he heads out into the hall. With no choice but to comply, Taupe slowly stands and rolls his eyes. He shoves his smartphone into his pocket and begins heading towards the door.

“You coming, or what?” Sterling cries from several feet ahead. Taupe picks up his pace to meet the older Swatch’s. While he can’t take his suspicious eyes off of Sterling’s focused, calm expression, Taupe has a feeling this event is not a prank after all. When Sterling finally notices his friend’s silent eyes searching desperately for answers, he lets out another relaxed sigh.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he says, and Taupe can just hear the smile in his voice, “You were supposed to be on top of this, too.” At that, the Beige steps away. Narrowing his eyes, he folds his arms across his chest.

“On top of what?” he asks.

“The moving, duh.” comes Sterling’s sarcastic reply.

“Listen, Dipshit,” Taupe snaps, bending over slightly to get in his stupid silver face, “I don’t remember anything about anyone moving. If this is some kind of retarded prank, then I want no part of it.” by then, both of the boys have stopped in the middle of the hall. As usual, Sterling politely waits for Taupe to finish speaking before throwing in his input.

“Taupe, relax. This was finalized last month.” Sterling puts a hand on his best friend’s shoulder, locking sincerity-filled eyes with him. “Her name is Ivory, remember?” After several seconds of staring, Taupe shakes his head. Throughout many fuzzy, drunken nights, the name had completely faded from his memory.

“Well, to break it down,” Sterling goes on, “Her name is Ivory, she’s moving into this building, and she’ll be staying on the ground floor.”

“What color is she?” Taupe pushes.

“I’m not sure.” Sterling sighs yet again, and the two proceed to walk up the stairs towards the arrival spot of their new recruit.

 

*

When they reached the ground floor, their only other roommate was already there waiting. They approached him, Sterling giving a small wave as he always did. 

The two knew this short man as Starless. Although he was technically considered a Black, his color was more of a deep navy, like that of a starless night. As usual, his pale yellow eyes slowly moved to acknowledge the two other Swatches, but he said nothing.

“Starless, my main man!” Sterling cried out as their hands met for a high five. Taupe stayed back and nodded to Starless in acknowledgement, but Sterling took the liberty of sitting next to him and wrapping an arm around his toned shoulder. 

Out of the three of them, Starless was the most fit. While both Taupe and Sterling were overweight and had to work very hard to  maintain a healthy lifestyle, Starless was naturally very skinny. It was obvious that the effort he put into getting sharp definition in his muscles was minimal. This made the two younger Swatches quite jealous, but neither spoke of it.

As they waited, they talked and theorized. Ivory’s color, height, weight, origin, reason for moving, and more. In the end, they came to the conclusion that she was obviously a drug dealing thug from the Red Territory, moving to the Yellow Territory to heighten her business. For once in their lives, they all sat in the same room laughing with one another.

Then, she came. A long bus rolled up to the building, and out stepped a girl with two suitcases. Her skin was a bit of an off-white, but her hair was the color of snow. She had thick bangs that covered her eyes, and her hair was short and full of volume. She was a tiny girl, but not small enough to pass as a child. Even in the cold afternoon rain, her entire body let off a soft, yet noticeable glow. She seemed very polite by the way she paid the driver and bowed before heading up to the doors.

“Mannerisms like that only come from the Blue Territory.” Muttered Starless as he stood to open the doors for her.

“She’s a White, huh?” Sterling adjusted his glasses, “Whites are supposed to be pure and innocent.” A smirk spread across his face as the thought crossed his mind.

“Pure and innocent my ass,” hissed Taupe, “Whites are pansies.” Just as soon as the girl was let in, she ran up to Taupe and Sterling.

“Hi!!” cried the girl, full of nervous energy, “Sorry to keep you waiting, I’m Ivory!” Sterling reached with his right hand to shake hers, then rethought his decision and went with the left. Everyone was introduced, and together they helped their new roommate get settled in.

After only a few minutes, it was revealed that Ivory was very giggly, and had a lot to say. She loved music, video games, and she wore nothing but dresses. She was jumpy, too. In fact, her constant state of alertness unnerved Taupe to a degree. She heard and inspected the slightest noises, kept a close eye on he and the others, and glanced around every few seconds. Maybe it was because she wasn't used to the company, but Taupe wasn't sure what to think of it.

The three got her settled in a room with nothing but a bed and a dresser, and left soon after. Taupe made his way back to his room, politely refusing the offer to go out for some food later on. After he positioned himself back in front of his painting, he turned on some music, raised his brush… And stopped. He stared at his picture, scrutinizing every detail.

_ “This is dull,”  _ he thought,  _ “dull, boring, and stupid. Why do I even try?”  _ These were things he often thought as he worked. Countless unfinished paintings sat scattered in his bedroom. Each nearly complete, but never seeing the light of day because Taupe simply convinced himself they weren't good enough. That he himself could never be good enough.

A soft tapping against his door interrupted his self pity. Part of him was grateful, but another part of him was agitated that someone would bother him for no reason. As he opened the door, he was greeted with the fluff of hair that was Ivory’s head. She looked up at him, bangs still concealing almost her entire face, and flashed him a bright smile.

“What’s up?” The question came out as barely more than a mumble, making it clear that he was not exactly in a talking mood. Upon being acknowledged like a normal person, Ivory immediately became flustered. Her face turned bright red as she looked back and forth nervously. She choked out a few inaudible syllables. As he waited for her to say something coherent, Taupe leaned against the doorframe.

“I-I…” she started, inhaling sharply, “May I come in? I wanna get to know you.” As she finished, she looked like she was struggling to keep her composure. Taupe thought it over for a while, then finally decided to let her in. He motioned her with a finger, and she followed him into his room.

As she walked in, Ivory gawked at all the paintings she saw. It occurred then to Taupe just how many paintings he’d discarded. They were everywhere. On the walls, stacked on the floor, and hastily thrown in the corners of the room. Failure after supposed failure. The realization of this brought his spirits down even further.

“These are amazing!” Ivory blurted, the light radiating off her body highlighting every detail of every beautiful project. Without touching anything, her fingers traced the brush strokes as they formed the ocean’s mighty waves. She sat there, smiling widely. She complimented everything. From sun-tainted clouds, to a couple drenched by the rain, she seemed to love it all.

“Is this your newest one?” She said, pointing at the canvas rested atop the easel. Taupe had been so absorbed in watching her smile and dance around his works that he hadn’t noticed that she’d made her way to the middle of the room. She now stared at the starlit city on the canvas. Each golden light in the painted sky glittered upon being exposed to her soft glow.

“Oh, I-” Taupe began, nervously running his fingers through the mass of curls he called a mohawk, “Yeah, that’s… I don’t really like that one.” he narrowed his eyes, searching for even more flaws. Ivory looked shocked and amazed at his answer, looking from him, to his painting, and back again. Her expression (or what he could see of it) was one of sheer disbelief.

“What?! How can you not love this?” Ivory got so close to the picture that Taupe thought she’d get wet paint on her nose. “It’s beautiful!” She laughed for about the millionth time that evening.

“No,” muttered Taupe, “It’s boring and unimaginative.” In his eyes, it was true. There was nothing good to look at, nothing interesting to observe. The painting looked lifeless to him, like a city in which no one cared enough to even pass through. He hated it, he hated his hobbies, and it wasn’t too far of a stretch to say he hated himself. He didn’t know which he despised more. The fact that he wasn’t good enough, or that he continued despite not being good enough. Ivory suddenly got in his face.

“How can you say that?!” She cried, “this painting, all of these paintings are absolutely incredible! You can’t bring yourself down so far just because it’s not good in your eyes. They’re your pictures, and they’re absolutely alluring! So put them out there for everyone to see, even if not everyone likes them!” By the end of her mini-speech, she was on her knees on top of Taupe’s stool, with as tight of a grip on his shoulders as her tiny hands would allow, panting softly as she took a breather.

“I… your views of my work are…” Taupe struggled to find the correct words for such a hyperactive rant, “...Interesting.” For a while, the two talked about different things as they got to know each other.  Music, food, hobbies, they talked until there seemed to be nothing to talk about. Eventually, Ivory excused herself to return to her room. Taupe saw her out, then turned and looked at all the paintings she had called nothing short of magnificent just moments before.

He looked at his easel, staring at the blending, clashing strokes as he subconsciously grabbed his brush and moved it to choose a color. He soaked the bristles in a pure white color, put on his headphones, and watched the world blur around him until he sat alone with nothing but his painting, and the electronic music engaging his mind.

  
  
  
  



End file.
